Last Year’s Grand Prix Organizers Begin to Pay Back Taxes, Blame “Outsiders” for Lack of Funds

Steven D. Silverman, attorney for the now defunct Baltimore Racing Development — last year’s Grand Prix organizers — announced recently that the group is starting to pay toward the $600,000 or so they still owe in back taxes. He blamed the group’s lack of funds on “outsiders” who created an “unexpected deficit.” Outsiders. I love that, very mysterious, and a little xenophobic — was it the mafia? extraterrestrial extortionists?

More likely he’s referring to the last-minute $1.1 million loan BRD took out from Thermopylae Sciences & Technology of Virginia (those danged outsiders!), and for which they ended up owing $500,000 in interest.

Indy driver Michael Andretti, whose sports marketing group has been hired to organize this year’s Grand Prix, weighed in, at least in general, on the previous group’s mistakes. According to him, it all comes down to waste. “Everybody was getting paid for doing nothing,” he said. “Everybody was a consultant. There was no money left.”